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Hareford

Name: Hareford - also known as OutpostType: Walled town with attached castlePopulation: 350 with another 400 in the surrounding villages.Location:Metamor ValleyDescription: Built on the remains of an old Suielman fortress. It consists of a tall keep and a curtain wall with towers (of Suielman origin). The whole castle is surrounded by a deep moat and is home to a small town. Hareford's streets are a tangled warren of narrow streets and even narrower alleys (some as little as 3 feet wide!) It's built on an old Suielman fortress. The walls are made of stone and brick and are twelve feet wide and twenty feet tall. There are fourteen towers in the wall and two gates. There were four but two have been filled in. Now only the east and south gates are used. The entire fortress is surrounded by a deep ditch twenty feet wide and fifteen feet deep. Inside the walls is an area of almost 9 acres in size.

The official name is Hareford but it is also called Outpost (because of its location in the far north of the valley). This small castle and town was destroyed during the same invasion that resulted in the Battle of Three Gates. It lay abandoned for a while and was recently (in 702) rebuilt. It is built on the remains of a Suielman fortress whose walls it uses as it's own curtain walls. It's job is two fold:

1. Stop or slow down the constant attacks from the north. Any lutin raiding party has to get past the outpost's patrols.
2. To act as an early warning for Metamor Keep. An invading army from the north first has to go past the outpost. A messenger from there could give the Keep a full day's extra warning.

Military

Garrison: The 1st Equitaire company under Captain Sobol - which consists of 250 infantry and 100 cavalry are permanently1 assigned here. A mix of cavalry and infantry, they are well trained and experienced. In addition to guarding the walls and gates they patrol the surrounding area.

Rotated troops: Hareford has a unit of troops under the command of Marcus Caruslo for George that rotate through every 30 days. Usually 100 to 200 troops in size and mix of cavalry and infantry. These are people doing their feudal obligation and range in quality from good to mediocre to out right terrible. They are used to supplement the regulars and do tasks like sentry duty. Exactly what depends on the quality and capabilities of the unit. Usually they guard the gates and patrol the town walls under the supervision of the regulars and the town militia. Some are good and dedicated but most simply want to get the obligation done and go home.

Militia: the town itself has a small militia of about 70 people. Pretty well equipped and trained they are usually used to supplement and watch over the feudal levies rotating through each month. Seeing as they live in Hareford the militia is very dedicated to protecting the place. Something often lacking in the rotating units.

Leadership: The noble in charge is Nestorius. The commander of the troops there is William Dupre who was just recently2 assigned there by Duke Thomas.

Magical Defenses Hareford is protected by a surprisingly strong series of defenses against magic. Many mages have cast spells on the area over the years. Nest has added his own spells along with reinforcing the ones already present. The strongest spell is a shield that prevents any magical scrying of the place. Looking at the town magically will quickly bring the viewer up against a strong shield that prevents them from seeing anything. Trying to push past that will earn the viewer the magical equivalent of a "Keep Out" sign. More persistence will earn the attempted view the magical version of a sharp jolt. Like touching an electric cattle fence. This will attract Nest's attention. Those who still persist and try and push past will very quickly find out how good a battle mage Nest really is. This spell prevents any form of magical ease dropping into the town along with preventing any form of teleporting in or out. The shield is not meant to hide the town; just keep anyone from peeking in or arriving unannounced. The shield has several different levels of power and Nest can (as a later descendant will describe it) pump up the volume. Resulting in an extremely potent blast of power instead of a small jolt. At it's highest levels the shield can deliver a blast of electricity stronger than a lightening bolt. The shield cannot stop a physical entry into the town and does not stop anyone from just flying over the town and looking down. But doing so would put them within range of the town's defenders and Nests own magic. The existence of the shield is well known but exact details are not. Everyone in Hareford knows of 'The shield thing' but only a handful know of the true power levels it has.

Metamor Keep rests on a nexus of 7 ley lines. Hareford does not rest on a nexus but two ley lines pass right underneath the town and a third passes close by. This results in some serious magical power at Nest's call. It also means that spells that should have long ago expired continue to work. In the last few years Nestorius has been seriously exploring the town and the Suielman ruins it was built on. He has located an extensive system of underground rooms, halls and a well built sewage/water system. He has also found a whole host of magic spells and wards of many types cast over the millennia of history of the place. Many he deactivated, some he enhanced. All were studied. The most potent spell is the shield which was described above. It is Suielman in origin.

Random Notes:
Hareford's streets are a tangled warren of narrow streets and even narrower alleys. This mean most traffic moves on foot as there simply is no room for wagons. For shops and homes needing supplies that are too big or numerous to carry the people use two- or three-wheeled carts either pushed by hand or pulled by dogs.

There are a small hills and mounds off to the north of the town. These features are not natural. At least two of them are grave barrows and are protected by magic. They are at least partly barrows and tombs but they are free of undead. The only magic on them is preservation and protection. They are safe so long as no one tries to dig them up. No one knows they are tombs but Nestorius and William. At least one had a ceremonial purpose as it seems to be shaped like a snake. It might be Tened in construction and could be several hundred thousand years old. (This is true but will not be confirmed for a long time).